wouldn't step a foot inside of it, no sir, not if you was to give
me a farm!"

CHAPTER XV

A NOISE IN THE DARK

"Maybe you wouldn't do it for a farm," said Mrs. Gilligan, striding
resolutely toward the man and the boy, while the two drew apart and
stared at her in surprise, "but you're goin' to do it for me. If you
think I'm going to lug those trunks and provisions and things into the
house all by myself, you never was so much mistaken in your life. What do
you suppose I'm paying you my good money for? Now, get a move on and
hurry those things inside, or I'll have to take a hand in the matter
myself. Trunks first!"

And too much surprised by this deluge of words to refuse, the old
man turned to the trunks, and, assisted by the boy, carried them
into the hall.

"This is far enough," he said, but Mrs. Maria Gilligan, accustomed to
having her own way, would have none of it.

"Upstairs," she ordered. "You don't suppose we are going to sleep on
the ground floor, do you? And we're not going to carry them
ourselves, either."

And once more the old man obeyed her, while the boy, wicked youngster,
laughed at him behind his back.

"If you meet a ghost coming downstairs, Gramper," he taunted, "just tell
him to be careful and not stumble over you. There now, be careful, will
you? You almost dropped the thing on my foot."

The girls watched the two go upstairs with Mrs. Gilligan bringing up the
rear to make sure they did not stop half way, and then turned to each
other with a queer expression, half of amusement, half of uneasiness, on
their faces.

"Well, we always wanted an adventure," said Laura, as they turned back to
the open door, feeling an instinctive need of getting out of the house,
"and now we're having one."

"A regular one," agreed Billie, adding decidedly: "And I'm going to enjoy
myself. Why, Laura," with a touch of excitement, "did you notice those
funny old chairs and things? They're really very pretty, and they are
surely very old. I shouldn't wonder--"

"Oh, Billie," cried Violet rapturously, "do you suppose you could get
real money for them? If you could," she added with the air of a
martyr that made the girls laugh, "it would be worth even braving the
ghosts for."

"You don't really believe that silly thing, do you?" asked Billie,
turning back into the hall. "It's all in a foolish old man's
imagination."

"All right. And now you can bring in the provisions," they heard Mrs.
Gilligan d